He Was Nothing Special
by Captain Wee
Summary: Forget what you heard about the legend, the hero. This is a story about a boy who just wanted to be happy.
1. Chapter 1

He was nothing special

Disclaimer: Square-Enix owns Final Fantasy VII and the characters. I own a copy of the game. And this goddamn computer.

He was nothing special, just a boy born to two people in a small mountain town.

His parents were young, mid-20's, high school sweethearts who got married because it was the right thing to do.

His father was a mountain guide, taking the few visitors that came to their quaint little village on tours through Mt. Nibel.

His mother was a housewife; a good cook whose apple turnover was rumored could bring a smile to even old President Shinra's face.

A year after their marriage, a bouncing baby boy was born.

He looked unassuming enough and it seemed that his fate was to be no different than any of the other children. Life would go on as it always had in Nibelheim.

But this was not to be.

One day while hiking through the mountains, the husband disappeared.

The residents searched high and low for the guide and soon found his body, or what was left of it. It seemed that while trying to find a route to the fabled mako fountain that resided in Mt. Nibel, he was set upon by a dragon, and summarily devoured. All that remained was carrion, for the zus and the wolves.

He was mourned by the villagers and given a proper burial. Eulogized by the politicians and the clergy as a brave man who selflessly gave himself for the village. However, as we all know, when a man is no longer able to hold the demons in the closet, they come bursting forth unforgiving.

He occasionally went up the mountain to scout out any new routes or gauge how dangerous the trails had become. He was lauded on his work ethic and commitment to his job.

These trips had another purpose however. A month after his funeral, a young woman who had recently moved to the town revealed something shocking. It seems that on these trips to the mountain, he also engaged in trysts with the lady. The shack that the woman showed the townspeople and the proximity to where the guide's body was found seemed to confirm this.

Soon, the mother and her young son were no longer treated with the consideration and sympathy of a family that lost a father. They became pariahs, the shame of the village.

The boy, who was once said to be blessed with his father's good looks, was now looked upon as the eternal reminder of the sins his father committed.

As the boy grew, the hatred the villagers had for him manifested itself in their children and he was ostracized from the other kids in the neighborhood. Everyday he would come home and he would cry into his mother's lap, not understanding why he had no one to call a friend. The mother cursed herself, not understanding why God had dealt a cruel hand to such a sensitive boy. He may have inherited his father's appearance, but his mannerisms and his personality were clearly his mother's.

Then came that fateful day.

The boy had become used to looking at others from afar, watching how they played and had fun. He had dreams where he would come into school and the other children let him play with them. But when he awoke and found that his dreams were sweet nothings, he wept silently, knowing that this day would be another torturous exercise in solitude.

There were times when he gained enough courage to ask if he could play or maybe even keep score if they played that sort of game. The others simply laughed or physically convinced him to go back to his corner, telling him a freak like him would just ruin the game by his very presence.

One girl however, wondered why the boy was always by himself. Why he was always huddled in a corner of a playground staring at the others while they played hopscotch or jump rope or why he always ate lunch alone. One day, when the class was let out for morning recess and the boy assumed his place at his familiar corner, the girl walked up to him and sat right in front of him. The boy looked at her, perplexed.

"Hi!" she chirped happily. "I always notice you in this corner and I figure that if you're in this corner all the time, then it must be a lot of fun. So, what's so great about this corner?"

The boy was very smart, considered one of the brightest students in the class. His teachers commended him that at least he inherited his father's persistence and innovative thinking, if nothing else. However, the scenario that was unfolding had never before entered his mind as something that could happen.

So the boy just sat there, eyes wide, mouth open, gaping like a fish.

The girl waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello? Anybody home?"

She giggled.

The boy shook his head. "Yeah, sorry, I was just…uh…thinking."

She looked at him serenely. "You think a lot. That's why I like you; you're not like the other boys who just do whatever comes into their dumb heads."

Once again, the boy was left speechless.

The bell rang, shattering the jovial atmosphere of recess and signifying another hour of boring, life-draining schoolwork.

"Well, gotta go now. Nice talking with you." The girl got up and brushed the dust off her dress.

"Wait." The boy said. "Would you eat lunch with me today?" He had no idea where he was getting the courage to say such things, and to someone he hardly knew too.

The girl smiled and nodded

"C'mon Cloud, you don't want to be late for class!"

Cloud stood up and nodded. "Right." He wanted to appear tough in front of his new friend. Even though she was about two inches taller than him. His baby blue shorts and Boco the Chocobo T-shirt weren't exactly helping him either.

_I need new clothes. And I need to grow too._

"Cloud!"

"Coming…uh…err"

It just hit the boy that he had no idea who this girl's name was.

I have revised this story. I will probably make this into a two-shot since I have a lot more to write than I thought.


	2. Chapter 2

He was nothing special

Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing….bastards

* * *

Tifa Lockhart…

Tifa Lockhart…

So her name is Tifa Lockhart…

"Cloud Strife!"

At the sound of his infuriated teacher's voice, Cloud immediately dropped his pencil and looked at her with fear in his eyes.

_Please, please don't come over here._

The reason for the boy's fear was that while he was supposed to be paying attention to the lesson that was being taught, he was instead writing Tifa's name over and over again.

In block letters, bubble letters, straight lines, his whole paper was full of Tifa.

"Now, Mr. Strife, I hope you've been practicing your arithmetic on that piece of paper because I have a problem for you to do on the board."

Cloud visibly relaxed. _Okay, just gotta do some math, nothing too bad. Better than what I was thinking was going to happen anyway._

Cloud got out of his chair and looked at his assigned problem. _Dividing fractions? Pfft, why don't you ask me what 2+2 equals?_

He went up to the board and quickly did the problem. He looked at the teacher for her assessment.

She nodded, "Good work, like always, Cloud. You can sit down now."

He went back to his seat and returned to his calligraphy.

_Hmm, what should I write her name with now? Dotted lines? Nah. Cursive? No, the way I write cursive I might as well do it in Wutaiin. Oh wait, I'll do those cool 3-D letters!_

Dedicating himself to his task, Cloud forgot all about class. At least until he noticed someone was screaming at him.

Irritated, he looked up to see who screamed, only to nearly scream himself when he saw his teacher.

_Aww, not again!_

"Cloud Strife! Since you think that piece of paper is more important than my lesson, I would like for you to share with the whole class what is on that paper."

Faced with such a difficult choice, Cloud took the only logical step he could think of.

He tore the paper out of the notebook, crumpled the sheet up into a ball, and threw it into his mouth.

The teacher nearly shrieked, "Cloud Locke Strife!! Who do you think you are!? A spy!?! That does it! I don't know what's gotten into you today, but I will not have these shenanigans in my classroom. You're going on the wall today, young man."

Cloud groaned.

The teacher turned to face him, "I'll hear no complaints from you Mr. Strife. Perhaps if you didn't act like you were one of the Turks, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

As she walked back to her desk, she muttered, "I didn't think he would go bad this fast."

Cloud heard it however. After he finished swallowing that foul-tasting paper he put his head down. He could hear the whole class murmuring, making fun of him like always. It was bad enough that none of the kids at school liked him, but to have his own teacher hate him?

Cloud fought the urge to cry, he knew that he would only be made fun of more if he started crying in class. He had to be strong; he had to look on the bright side of things. It was like his mother always told him:

_Only after experiencing true darkness can we really appreciate the warmth and security of the light._

_Besides, today isn't too bad, I met Tifa and I get to eat lunch with…_

_Aww dammit! I'm on the wall today! Great, I bet Tifa won't want to be my friend anymore since everybody's gonna tell her how much of a troublemaker I am._

The bell sounded. As the class started filing out, the teacher yelled loud enough so everybody could hear, "Remember Cloud, your on the wall today! I better see you there for the _whole_ lunch! Got it?"

Cloud nodded glumly and went to his punishment. The wall was the punishment teachers used when students were being too rowdy or insolent. The student would have to sit on the wall while all the other children played. The wall had the best view of the playground, so the poor luckless student would be tortured by watching the other children while they was stuck on their butt on a very uncomfortable concrete wall. If the student was especially difficult, they would be assigned busy work. It consisted of writing a sentence like "I will not chew gum in class." or "I will not put super glue on the teacher's chair."

When Cloud got there, he found one such student already on the wall. He recognized him instantly. Johnny Alexander, the boy who tortured Cloud to no end in second grade.

_What did I do to deserve this?_

Johnny noticed Cloud coming up to the wall, and raised his head to look at him with a devious smirk on his face.

"How's it going Chocobo-head?"

Johnny sat behind Cloud and would always make remarks that he wanted to "join his kind" whenever he wore a shirt with a Chocobo on it or ask if he had to lay an egg every time he was absent.

Johnny looked down at Cloud's shirt and shook his head, "Aww did Cloud miss his mommy? Is that why she's on your shirt? Were the stables full today?"

_I **really** need new clothes._

Cloud ignored him and sat down. He put his head into his hands.

_Tifa probably hates me now. She's was probably at the corner waiting for me and now she thinks I'm a jerk for not meeting her. She's probably like, 'Stupid Cloud! I try to be friends with him and he doesn't even meet me for something **he **asked **me** to do!' Or maybe her friends are telling her about what happened in class, and now she's thinking 'I don't want to hang out with a guy who eats paper. Gross!' and even if I went there she would just make fun of me. She'd call me a termite. The Choco-termite. That's the perfect name for me. _

_How did today get so bad?_

He looked to his left and saw Johnny copying down his sentence: I will not put paint in somebody else's hair.

Johnny felt Cloud's eyes on him as he turned his head to face him. "What do you want, Chicobo?"

_I forgot about that name._

Cloud rolled his eyes and said, "You're doing it long way. How many times do you have to copy it?"

"100 times." Johnny replied, momentarily forgetting his hatred of Cloud. He would do anything to get off the wall, even listen to the short little Chocobo-head.

"Just copy I 100 times, then copy will, then not and you get the rest." Cloud said.

Johnny stared at him for a moment, said "That's a stupid idea.", and went back to his work.

Cloud sighed. _It was worth a try._

He looked back at Johnny and saw that he was doing it his way.

I…

I…

I…

I…

Johnny looked up at Cloud, met his eyes and looked away. Cloud smiled.

A couple of minutes passed and soon Johnny was done. He got up and as he was about to leave he turned to face Cloud and said, "Thanks loser, have fun."

_At least he didn't call me Chocobo-head._

Soon he saw something that made him forget about Johnny, the teacher, even being on the wall.

He saw Tifa walking towards him. And she didn't look angry at all. In fact she had a big beaming smile on her face.

Once again, Cloud forgot to take the possibility into consideration, so once again the boy was left speechless.

She stopped right in front of him. She shook her head and said, "Cloud, do you know how long I've been searching for you? I thought you might have left me alone."

Cloud cringed. This is not what he had hoped.

She continued, "But I overheard some of my friends talking about you being here today." She looked at him curiously, "Did you really eat paper?"

Cloud decided to change the subject. "Hey, is that your lunch?" He said, pointing at a brown bag.

Tifa nodded. "Well, since you can't leave, might as well have lunch here. This can be as fun as the corner, right Cloud?".

Cloud could only nod.

_I guess today isn't so bad after all._

* * *

  
A/N:Okay, I have even more than I thought to write. I'm not giving a set number of chapters cause I have no idea how much more I'm going to write. Just stick with me people, I'll never lead you wrong…much. If you could leave me a review telling me how much I can decrease the suckitude of my story that would be great. And thanks to Phoenix Falls for the review!! 


	3. Chapter 3

He Was Nothing Special

* * *

_Wow, the sky is really blue today_. 

That was Cloud's most frequent thought as he was walking home from school. He normally would look down at the cobblestone road or at the gardens in front of the houses, but for some reason today he felt like looking up at the sky and admiring the clouds.

And one other thing that was really odd.

He couldn't stop smiling.

Not that he wanted to, it's just that he couldn't stop smiling. He had never felt this way before. Cloud just wanted to smile all day and admire the beautiful sky above him. The pokey-headed young boy breathed in deep, allowing the crisp and cool mountain air to fill his lungs.

And he relived that memory that gave him such a feeling of exhilaration, such a feeling of…worth.

"_Cloud, do you have any friends?" Tifa asked. Cloud almost coughed up his tuna sandwich. He looked at her, struggling with what to say. He swallowed his food. _

"_Well, I have a couple…but they're home-schooled so you probably don't know them." Tifa nodded. "But do you have any friends at school?" Cloud's eyes widened and he looked down at the ground. A long pause transpired, and then the boy's voice came soft but clear. _

"_You,"_

_Tifa turned to look at Cloud, clearly surprised by his response. Cloud turned to look at her and their eyes met. Steel blue and crimson brown met in a tense exchange. Cloud moved closer to Tifa and…_

_**WHAM!**_

…_suddenly found himself on the ground. From the ground he could hear Tifa laughing uncontrollably. _

"_You pushed me!" Cloud accused. Tifa shook her head, trying to suppress her laughter. "No I didn't, you fell. Probably cause you're a boy." Cloud looked indignant._

"_Wha…Huh…But…Hey…That doesn't ma-" he was suddenly interrupted when Tifa stuck her hand out in front of him. He looked at the hand suspiciously before he tentatively took grasp of it. He felt himself getting pulled up until suddenly…_

_**WHAM!**_

…_he was back on the ground again. Once again he could hear Tifa laughing like a hyena. She had her head cocked back, and she was shaking from her own glee. Cloud felt his cheeks burning. He couldn't believe that she had gotten him on the ground…twice!_

_But soon he started to smile. And he started to laugh. Soon they were both laughing loudly at what happened._

_Tifa held her hand out yet again. "I promise I won't let go this time." She managed to say in between giggles. Cloud took her hand immediately. Cloud's eyes gleamed mischievously…_

_**WHAM!**_

…_Tifa suddenly found herself looking at the sky above. She looked at Cloud, who was in fits of laughter. _

"_You pulled me down on the ground!" she cried, astonished by Cloud's actions._

"_No, I didn't," he said, grinning, "You fell, probably cause you're a girl."_

_Tifa laughed at his answer. "Cloud, you're such a weirdo, you know that?"_

_Suddenly the bell rang, signaling that lunch and Cloud's torture were over._

_Tifa got up suddenly and pried an errant leaf from her hair. "See you later Cloud. Remember not to get in trouble and eat paper."_

_And with that she was gone._

Cloud's smile grew wider as the feeling in his heart grew stronger. He looked back at the school.

It was built in response to the growing relevance of college education in the world. Universities on the eastern continent were becoming less and less likely to accept applications from people who were home schooled or weren't educated in an accredited facility. Complaints were lobbied to the mayor by parents who were angry that the sole reason their children weren't accepted is because they had no grade transcripts or any quantifiable evaluation or documentation of their education up to university standards.

At the time, revolutionary scientific advances were elevating fields such as biology and engineering to prominence. Shinra Weapons Manufacturing Company, eager to capitalize on the new discoveries and hoping to use them to create weaponry to aid them in the war, promised job security and substantial salaries to newly graduated scientists. Soon these were displacing formerly lucrative fields such as farming and coal mining, jobs that small towns such as Nibelheim lived on. People who were well-read or had a small spark of ambition had to look outside the small village to fulfill their dreams.

The mayor knew this and commissioned the building of the public school. It was on the outskirts of the village, approximately half a mile away from the Shinra Mansion. It was a one story building that stretched out horizontally. It was in a state of constant growth, having rooms added on each year. Even now there was a framework for a new room being constructed, a skeleton of wood and cement.

Cloud hated that school for so long. He hated it because he had no friends. He hated it because he thought the other kids were stupid or bullies. He hated it because it didn't matter how hard he studied or how well he did on tests, everybody still hated him.

But looking now, Cloud didn't feel that familiar loathing. In fact he didn't know what he felt, but he knew that it wasn't anger.

He walked uneventfully home and entered. The smell of food cooking greeted him at the door. _Apple turnovers, my favorite_. His stomach rumbled in agreement. He quietly entered the living room and sat at the dinner table.

Lily Strife noticed her son enter the room and her heart ached. She knew what was coming. His moist tears, his piercing cries, and his familiar pain. No matter how many times she saw it, seeing her son cry because of his solitude never got easier.

She walked to the table and sat across from her son. She knew the ritual. Putting on a happy face, she asked. "Cloud, how was school today dear?"

Cloud looked at his mother. "It was good. Better than I expected." He grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl and got off his chair. "I've got a lot of homework to do. Bye."

And with that he picked up his backpack and scampered off to his room.

Lily could barely register what had happened. Her eyes were still fixated to where Cloud was sitting a moment ago.

_The tears…Where are my son's tears? Where are his cries of agony?_

The mother snapped back to reality at the realization of what she was just thinking.

_What the hell is wrong with me? I should be happy that Cloud isn't crying. That he actually had a good day at school._

Ms. Strife bit her lip, knowing why she felt this strange feeling.

_I'm a horrible mother. I've actually grown accustomed to my son crying in my lap every day. Oh God, what have I become to actually treat my son's suffering like everyday business? I could have done something but I just let him cry, instead of being a real mother and helping him…Oh God…_

"Hey Mom," Cloud called as he trampled down the stairs. "What's for dinner?"

"Cloud, don't run down the stairs. You're not a horse," Lily replied out of reflex. "We're having Gumboco if you're so curious."

She got up and went to the stove to resume cooking. Cloud however lurked at the bottom of the stairs, awaiting the answer of an unspoken question.

"Yes," she said, reassuring him. "We're having apple turnover for desert."

"Yay!" Cloud's face beamed with delight. "How do you do that Mom? How do you know what I'm going to say?"

Lily smirked. "Cloud I'm your mother. I know you better than anyone. I know you better than yourself sometimes." She turned off the stove and oven, just as her son walked into the living room. She turned to face him. "Which is why I'm a little surprised by your behavior? What was so good about school today?

Cloud looked down, a little embarrassed about what he was going to say. "I made a friend today."

His mother stood there, blindsided by the news. "You…made a friend?"

Cloud nodded shyly.

Tears started to well up in her eyes, and she kneeled down to embrace her son. "Oh Cloud! I'm so happy for you! You have to tell me everything you can about this friend! We should invite them over! Are they a boy or a girl? Oh, I'm so very proud of you Cloud! Can you believe it Cloud? A friend!" she hugged her son tightly.

"Um, well my friend is a girl," Cloud said uncomfortably, feeling the squeeze from his mother's hug.

"Well, tell me about her," Lily said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Okay, her name is…"

* * *

A/N: Hello all. Well, sorry for the disgustingly late update. School was kicking my ass before, so I had hardly anytime to write. So two days ago I said "Wee, you're going to finish Chapter 3 if it kills you." And ta-da! Here are the fruits of my labor. Enjoy. 

Gumboco-Chocobo Gumbo

Just to clear that up for you guys


	4. Chapter 4

He Was Nothing Special

* * *

_It just had to be her…_

_God really has a sick sense of humor…_

Lily sighed. She resumed cleaning Cloud's room, picking up errant papers and dusting the bookshelf.

_It figures. Cloud finally makes a friend and it turns out to be his daughter. And she sounded so sweet the way he talked about her._

After making sure her son's room was spotless, she headed off to the master bedroom to clean the last room of the house before Cloud came home. She began dusting the armoire when her attention turned to the face-down picture frame on the night table. Setting her duster down, she walked over to the night table and flipped the picture up, revealing an aged photo of two people who looked very much in love. Lily sat down on the bed, absorbed in the photo. Her eyes focused on the photo, trying to remember that time so long ago. It was a picture of a well-built young man with broad shoulders and a face that smiles were made for. Next to him, held tightly at his side was a petite woman, looking up at him, eyes shining and face beaming. Taking her time, she got lost in the sights, sounds, and smells of nostalgia.

The Harvest Festival where they met…their first kiss…his proposal…

Lily shook her head_. Gale, you were always a charmer, even when you did something stupid, you always got me to forgive you. But I wonder if you even considered what Cloud would have to go through? What he would have to deal with? Or were you too lost in your dreams to even care?_

Putting the picture down, she resumed cleaning the room. As she was about to leave she looked at the picture once more. She walked over and placed it face down again.

_It's so hard to hate a dead man._

Glancing at the clock on the way down the stairs, Lily knew she had to start dinner. Cleaning the house had taken longer than she thought, and she knew if she didn't start dinner before Cloud came home, he would have a fit.

As she started to set up the ingredients, the familiar creak of the door opening reached her ears. The blond-headed boy walked into the room and sat at the dinner table.

A smile graced Lily's face as she saw him walk in. Taking her place across from her son, she asked, "How was today dear?"

"Um, it was okay I guess." Cloud replied.

His mother looked at him pointedly, waiting for more.

"Tifa wasn't there today, so I wasn't able to invite her over." He said, rolling his eyes.

Lily's face fell at the news. "Oh, and I so wanted to meet this girl. Make sure you invite her the next time you get a chance."

Cloud nodded absently.

"Also Cloud, stop leaving things under your bed. I'm tired of having to check under there for your books and toys."

Another nod.

"And could you actually put the towel back in the bathroom when you're done showering? It makes your room wet and mold could grow. I don't want you getting sick."

Nod.

She sighed. His vacant eyes were a pretty sure indicator of where his mind was, or wasn't as the case may be. "Cloud, we're not eating dinner tonight, is that ok?"

Once again, the nod was the only answer. However after registering what she said, his eyes widened and he looked to his mother helplessly.

"Yeah, you pay attention to me when it's about food. But everything else you just write off Mom as annoying. One day I might actually be serious about dinner."

Cloud kept looking at her, wondering whether she might actually do that. Lily grinned. _Works like a charm._

Assessing her ingredients, Lily came to a conclusion.

"Looks like we're out of food." She voiced.

"What!?" Cloud said, clearly shaken. "No! I'm sorry, I really am!"

The boy ran over to his mother, hugging her. "Please don't starve me! I'll do anything! I'll even watch those stupid soap operas with you! Just let me eat! I wanna eat!"

Lily laughed. "Cloud, I'm not starving you, I'm actually out of food to cook with."

Cloud regained composure. "Oh."

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. "Let's go to the store. We'll get something easy to cook over there. I actually don't feel like doing too much today."

"Okay. Should I get my jacket?"

"Yes. It's pretty chilly. I don't want you getting sick."

Cloud made a face at that, but ran upstairs and soon appeared wearing a light blue jacket that was a little too big for him.

"Are you ready?" His mother asked sweetly.

The boy nodded somewhat glumly.

They left and the cool evening air greeted them. Although Cloud was thankful for the jacket, he kept fidgeting with it, trying to make it comfortable.

"Don't worry sweetie. You'll grow into it eventually." Lily assuaged.

Cloud gave up, letting the too-long sleeves dangle from his arms. Looking up at the houses nearby, he wondered if maybe Tifa lived in one of those houses. Maybe she could see him right now, looking outside her window.

He snorted. _I wonder how cool I look right now, walking with my mom to the store with a jacket way too big for me. I probably look like a little kid, weak and small._

The boy was lost in his thoughts until he ran right into his mother. "Cloud! You've got to be more careful!" she admonished.

"Why'd you stop?" He asked, though not really caring about the answer.

"Well I stopped because we arrived at the store." She pointed up at the sign that displayed the name quite prominently: BOB'S GOOD OL' GENERAL STORE

"You know, I wonder how they stay in business. I mean, who'd want a general? They're always cranky and all they want to do is fight." Lily chuckled at her little joke. Her son however, looked at her with an expression of shame and horror, completely aghast at her poor attempt at comedy. He headed inside without another word.

"Tough crowd," She said to no one in particular and headed in after him.

Lily quickly made her way to the vegetable section. She was used to the whispers and the looks she received when she went anywhere. She didn't like them one bit, but it was something she had to deal with every now and then.

Lily hated shopping at this hour. At least in the morning Cloud was at school and there weren't many people so she could get her things and leave quickly, but it was at this our that the gossips loved to gather and dish about things from the newest couple in town to whether or not Mr. Wheatley was going to finish fixing that truck parked near the entrance of the village.

But today was different for some reason. They were talking louder than usual. Enough so that Lily heard snippets of the conversation without meaning to…

"…a coma you say?"

"…I hear she's got a 50-50 chance…"

"…her poor daughter. Tifa was her name right?"

At the mention of the girl's name, Lily perked up. Trying to appear inconspicuous, she tried to listen to rest of the conversation.

"…Yes, Tifa Lockhart. That poor family. I can't imagine how that poor girl feels right now, being told your mother might never wake up."

"Yeah, and that poor husband. I heard he was considering a run for mayor, but now with her condition…just makes your heart ache to hear all this…So…Have you heard the rumor about Dr. Flanagan and Ms. Peterson?

"Ooh, are they an item now?"

"Well, I heard from sister's good friend Janice that…."

And Lily soon lost interest in their talk after that. She stared at the cabbage, contemplating what to do with the information she had just learned. She put the cabbage in her basket and was about to rush off until she came face to face with her son.

His face looked completely drained of color, his eyes were frantic and he was panting heavily. Their eyes met, and instantly, she knew that he had heard. She could tell from the way his eyes looked at her. His eyes spoke of desperation, of wanting to escape and not having to hear the horrible truth. And she knew that her eyes probably said the same thing.

So they stood, like unmoving sentinels, trying to get lost in each others eyes, rejecting the world around them.

* * *

A/N: Hi everybody! Well, summer's almost over and although I'm not one to look forward to school, I'm actually glad I'll be doing something everyday. Vacation is great and all, but I think my mind is starting to rot with all this free time. Chalk it up to video games and the internet. 

I don't think I've plugged this before, so I'll do it now. There is a fanfiction contest called the Genesis Awards. They judge the best of FFVII fanfiction around and they need some help. So if you want to nominate your favorite fic, be a judge, or simply shoot the breeze with fellow FF fans then come on by. The address is on my profile but if it doesn't work, just PM and I'll send you a link.

Thanks to my reviewers: Riku and Zack's Kitty, Lady Valtaya, and Following Padfoot's Pawprints


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